Calgary Garden Coach

tulips, iceland poppies and bergenia in the Adventure Garden

daffodil and grape hyacinths in the front Entry Garden

epimedium rubrum and siberian squill in the dry, front Shade Garden

purple liatris, echinacea 'White Swam', rudbecia 'Golden Glow', sedum 'Matrona' and annual borage in the Adventure Garden

raspberry monarda (bee balm) and golden rod in the butterfly potager

September bouquet

above: a bouquet of perovskia (russian sage), rudbeckia 'Golden Glow', hyrangea 'Annabelle', and annual cosmos with golden rod, bee balm and joe pye weed in the garden in the background.

September is a beautiful month, isn't it?

what's blooming in the Adventure Garden in late August

Yes, I know it's September already but I took these pictures a few days ago and haven't had time to post them yet.  Are you looking for ideas for perennials that are showy at this time of year in Calgary?  My Adventure Garden at this time of year is taken over by lots of late-bloomers such as sedum 'Matrona', rudbeckia 'Golden Glow',

ornamental grasses such as helitotrichon sempervirens (blue oat grass),

and prairie perennials such as purple liatris spicata and echinacea 'White Swan',

and one of my all-time favourite plants, perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian Sage.)  All of these plants do well in a sunny spot and are drought-tolerant.  They're also all low maintenance except the rudbeckia, which is a tall plant that needs staking. 

To see what this garden looks like at other times of the year, click here and scroll down.

the Butterfly Potager garden in late August

The Butterfly Potager is brimming over with flowers of raspberry monarda (bee balm), scarlet runner beans, grape daylilies, yellow and orange calendula, and yellow goldenrod and daylilies.  Here's a look a little closer in:

 

The window box is full of annuals which repeat the hot colours of the perennials on the ground.

To see this garden at other times of the year, click here and scroll down.

new plants! persicaria (fleeceflower) and celastrus scandens (bittersweet vine)

Sometimes I think it's amazing I get anything done.  This summer, the north patio project was interrupted by the completion of the back porch, which then made me want to finish painting the window frames on the back of the house, which was interrupted last week-end by the need to plant some new plants (and move others around to make room) thanks to GreenGate Garden Centre's annual wine and cheese event for Horticultural Society members last Saturday (I really shouldn't drink and shop...)

And now I'm out of town for a few days - hence the time to post (otherwise I'd be out gardening or painting right now...)

Anyway, here are two of the plants I ended up with!  I've always wanted to try persicaria (common name: Mountain Fleeceflower), and as soon as I saw the colour of this particular new variety Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Orange Field' I knew I had to have it in near the chimney in the front Entry Garden.  Most varieties of fleeceflower are quite drought tolerant and require at least part sun - this area gets a couple hours of early morning sun and then a couple at midday, so I'm not sure it's quite enough but we'll see how it does. 

The vine behind it is Celastrus scandens 'Bailumn' (Autumn Revolution Bittersweet), which is a very tall, hardy vine typically grown for its colourful fall foliage and berries.  Bittersweet does do just fine in part sun and this variety does not require cross pollination to produce berries so I only needed one, which was a bonus.  I particularly wanted something tall here which I can hopefully train to grow over the front door once the vine gets tall enough.  I had to move some clematis out of the way first, which don't get as tall, and which now have a home on the new trellis in the north patio.

That big white flower is an Annabelle hydrangea by the way, which does perfectly well in its sheltered, east-facing location next to my house, although I have heard of some people having trouble with it in Calgary.

pink peony, blue oat grass and painted daisy in the Adventure Garden

white peachleaf bellflower, Morden Centennial rose, blue salvia and annual cosmos in the Adventure Garden

blue delphiniums, white peachleaf bellflower, scarlet trumpet honeysuckle, white peony, red asiatic lily

pink peony, red painted daisy, blue oat grass, blue salvia in the Adventure Garden

blue salvia, white peachleaf bellflower, pink peony, red painted daisy in the Adventure Garden

nepeta, dianthus and annual snapdragons in the Adventure Garden

 

 

nepeta (catmint) 'Walker's Low' and alchemilla (lady's mantle)

This is one of my all-time favourite plant combinations ever, and it's blooming right now if you're looking for something to brighten up your garden at this time of the season.  I don't actually have lady's mantle in my garden, but when my neighbour decided to plant lady's mantle along his front fence, I seized the opportunity by planting nepeta right next to it.

close-ups in the Adventure Garden

Above: nepeta, variegated iris, blue oat grass, white peony, yellow sedum, and pink sea thrift, saponaria and geranium 'Ballerina'.

Above: white peony, pink rose 'Therese Bugnet' and saponaria, blue salvia 'May Night'.

 

Above: white hesperalis matronalis, painted daisy 'Robinson's Red', white peony, siberian iris 'Caesar's brother', blue nepeta 'Six Hills Giant'.

bearded iris and blue perennial geranium in the Adventure Garden

peony, shasta daisy, rose 'Therese Bugnet', and saponaria in the Adventure Garden

iris germanica 'Bounty' and ninebark 'Coppertina' in the front Welcome Garden

bearded iris in front of 'Sun Power' hosta at the edge of the back Shade Garden

Hello, Therese!

Therese Bugnet just started blooming in my Adventure Garden yesterday - the first hardy rose to bloom after the wild rose.  It is shown here with shasta daisy and saponaria.  For more on hardy, low maintenance roses in my garden and how to grow them, click here.

wild rose in the Adventure Garden

I know other people have roses blooming already, but in my relatively shady yard, the wild rose is the first to bloom and just started blooming today.  I may regret planting it (it was a seedling that randomly appeared in my yard a couple of years ago and I rescued it and gave it a home at the back of the Adventure Garden) because it suckers quite a bit, but it's a hardy native and is not only the first rose in my garden to bloom, but also the first to leaf out and look good in spring.  So for now, it stays (those are purple dwarf bearded iris in the background.)

yellow doronicum (leopard's bane), pink bergenia, orange geum and white anemone sylvestris (snowdrop anemone)

... in the back Shade Garden.

blue oat grass, bearded iris, geranium 'Ballerina', pink moss phlox and sea thrift 'Dusseldorf Pride'

... in a hot, sunny spot in the Adventure Garden.

allium 'Purple Sensation'

The alliums are blooming right now.  My kids love these plants to use as magic wands!  If you like them, make a mental note to plant some bulbs this fall.  'Purple Sensation' is a variety that is particularly easy to grow in Calgary - even though they come back reliably, I always plant a few more every year.

Clockwise from the top you can see it paired with: golden hops in the Butterfly Potager Garden; and saponaria (soapwort), bearded iris, late yellow tulips, blue oat grass, iceland poppies in the Adventure Garden.

iris, snapdragons, tulips and cherries blooming in the Adventure Garden

 

 

Doronicum orientale (leopard's bane), bergenia in the back Shade Garden

Bergenia bridges the border between my sunny Adventure Garden and the back Shade Garden.  Here it is with its shade-loving neighbour, sunny yellow leopard's bane.

bergenia, iris, tulips and iceland poppies in the Adventure Garden

Are you looking for something to jazz up an area of your garden at this time of year?  Here are some of my favourite plants blooming in the Adventure Garden right now.  Bergenia and iris are especially great because they have very strong textures and their foliage stays healthy all season, which adds interest to the garden even after the plants are done blooming.

garden design principle - contrasting plant forms

This is the first design principle I talk about when I'm giving people advice about designing their own ornamental gardens.  For low maintenance purposes, I mostly recommend perennials over annuals, but the thing people need to be aware of is that most perennials flower for a much shorter period than annuals, which generally flower all summer long.  So to make your garden look interesting even when some things are not in flower, it's important to consider the plant's form i.e. its shape or outline. 

Round, mounding plants:
cushion spurge, artemesia 'Silver Mound', perennial geraniums
Arching
Some ornamental grasses, daylilies
Upright
snakeroot, spiked veronica, obedient plant, delphiniums, verbascum
Fanning
astilbes, hostas, columbine, meadow rue, bleeding hearts

...and some plants are combinations of these shapes depending on whether or not they are flowering.

Here are some examples of forms that work well together in my garden:

Above: a mounding euphorbia (cushion spurge) behind upright, spiky bearded iris looks brilliant in June but the contrasting form is interesting for the rest of the season too.

Above: arching helictotrichon (blue oat grass), rounded but spiky bearded iris, upright liatris spicata, fanning, flat-topped yarrow, and more!

Above: fanning hosta and broad, rounded fans of bergenia with arching, spiky blue fescue (a combination that looks great all season long even when nothing's in bloom, I might add!)

Above: rounded sedum 'Matrona' with arching daylilies and blue oat grass.

 Above: upright lamb's ears with low, spreading dianthus.

 Above: fanning peony in front of upright delphiniums (they don't bloom at the same time but I like this combination because the peony hides the shabby bottom of the delphinium later in the season)

 Above: upright calamagrostis (feather reed grass) 'Karl Foerster' with, well, pretty much anything!

• mounding geraniums in front of upright siberian irises or fanning peonies
• arching daylilies next to upright spiked veronica (these also bloom at the same time)
• tall, upright to arching grasses behind fanning astilbe (warning: astilbe is a moisture-lover!)
• upright mulleins with the billowing roundness of bearded irises
• spiky perennial salvia next to fanning, flat-topped yarrow
• broad fans of bergenia leaves in front of arching daylilies or ornamental grasses
• fanning hostas in front of upright snakeroot

You'll notice there are also contrasting textures in a lot of these plant combinations.  Although foliage colour also makes things interesting, it is secondary to texture.  A great way to check for a good plant combination is to look at the picture in black and white and see if it still looks interesting:

For more great perennial plant combinations, check out the post I wrote about Piet Oudolf-inspired plants for Calgary sustainable gardens, which was published in the Calgary Horticultural Society's magazine last year.

If you would like an urban paradise that rejoices the eye and refreshes the spirit, view My Services for consultation details.

colour in the late season garden

Yes, Calgary has a very short "growing season".  If you define the season from the last frost in the spring to the first frost in the fall.  But perennials last much longer than that and of course, shrubs, trees and evergreens extend the season even further.  This late fall has been glorious - the first Hallowe'en the kids didn't have to try to squeeze their costumes over winter coats and mitts!  There are many shrubs and perennials still looking very colourful in the garden right now. 

Since my two main criteria for choosing plants is that they must be low maintenance and must have a long season of interest, it just so happens that many of the plants still looking good right now happen to be many of my overall favourites:

Above: sedum 'Matrona' and helictotrichon sempervirens (blue oat grass);

 

Above: blue oat grass again with my new barberry 'Rose Glow' in front;

 

Above: the same blue oat grass from another angle, with ornamental allium seed head in front and sedum, nepeta (catmint) and lamb's ears adding texture and colour in the background;

 

Above: many of the roses still have leaves on them and this one, 'Snow Pavement' also has extra large hips;

 

Above: asters still blooming with a rose, artemesia 'Silver Mound', a purple sedum and perovskia (russian sage) in the background;

 

Above: lonicera 'Scarlet Trumpet' honeysuckle still blooming;

 

Above: scarlet trumpet honeysuckle with perovskia (russian sage) and liatris;

 

Above: ninebark 'Diabolo' at the back of the Adventure Garden;

 

Above: lamb's ears, nepeta (catmint), sedum 'Matrona', bergenia, festuca glauca and calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster' still providing colour and texture;

 

Above: sedum 'Autumn Joy' (this particular specimen is getting a little leggy due to its warm location on the west side of the house, so it probably needs dividing next spring);

 

Above: sedum 'Autumn Joy' in more exposed locations in the front Welcome Garden stay more compact;

 

Above: sedum 'Autumn Joy' in front of calamagrostis (feather reed grass) 'Karl Foerster';

 

Above: teasel and feather reed grass in the front Welcome Garden seem to glow when backlit;

 

Above: another specimen of 'Karl Foerster' that I enjoy viewing from the kitchen window all year long;

 

Above: the leaves in hte strawberry patch are turning brilliant colours in front of dwart Alberta spruce (a plant I don't recommend for Calgary, BTW) and calamagrostis (feather reed grass) 'Overdam';

 

Above: and finally, many of my tough, dry, shade-tolerant perennials such as lamiastrum (shown) and epimedium are still looking green and healthy.

 

 

 

 

 

do you plan for fall foliage when choosing trees and shrubs? you should!

Check out this photo of one of my neighbour's yards a few days ago.  Gawd, don't you just love fall?

Normally I don't really like the look of shrubs and trees planted in the middle of lawns with no connection between them - they are each their own little island floating adrift in a sea of turf grass.  But right now they look spectacular and all is forgiven!  From left to right in the photo above:

a red viburnum; an orangey-red hedge of cotoneaster in the background; a green lilac just starting to change colour; a yellow nanking cherry; and a red crabapple (probably Thunderchild?)

Here's one more view 'cause they're just so godd#m gorgeous right now:

What are your favourite plants for fall foliage? 

Some more of mine (in addition to the ones above) include the Sorbus spp. (Mountain Ash tree), Aesculus glabra (Ohio buckeye), Acer ginnala (Amur maple), Acer tataricum (Tatarian maple), Euonymus alata (winged burning bush), Euonymus nana 'Turkestanica' (Turkestan burning bush) and Cornus spp. (dogwoods).

Close-ups of leaves help if you're trying to identify something, so also check out this post at Gardening zone 3b.

what's blooming in the butterfly potager garden in late September

Sigh.  This is probably the last collection of photos I will be posting for the season!  Ah, but now I won't be gardening so much so I'll actually have time to write about stuff again, rather than just posting photos all the time!  Anyway, here's the clematis, hyssop, rose 'John Cabot' and sedum 'Autumn Joy' all still blooming in the butterfly potager (above.)

The foliage of 'Dreamweaver' columnar crabapples is turning bright yellow (I wish it were red!)

More photos clockwise from top left: goldenrod and raspberry monarda; golden hops, hyssop, purple liatris and raspberry monarda; siberian iris foliage looks good even when not in bloom; swiss chard has been harvested; sedum 'Autumn Joy' in bloom; liatris, hyssop and monarda again.

what's blooming in the front welcome garden in late September 2010

I've written about combining plants for texture before, because adding textural contrasts will add interest to the garden even when the given plants aren't in bloom.  The textural contrasts get amped up a notch in fall when colours start to change to fiery reddish-oranges through to bright golden yellows.  Aren't you just loving fall this year?  Especially since we didn't get one at all last year (the green leaves just froze on the trees/shrubs/perennials early last October, remember?)  The golden, spiky foliage of daylilies can be seen in the front of the photo above.

I'm also especially thankful for my neighbour's cotoneaster hedge across the street.  This is the view from my living room window in the mornings these days.

More photos, clockwise from top left: echinacea 'Magnus', nepeta 'Walker's Low", shasta daisies and sedum 'Autumn Joy' in bloom; daylily foliage in front of ornamental grass 'Karl Foerster' and a juniper; red spirea 'Goldflame' foliage and a purple sedum; the more established side of the front welcome garden.

fall foliage - viburnum trilobum (american cranberry) 'Bailey's compact' and lamiastrum in the front shade garden

what's blooming - the Adventure Garden in late September

Above: sedum matrona has filled out and is still attracting bees (below.)  Perennials in bloom: liatris, echinacea, russian sage, lamb's ears (second bloom), yarrow, rudbeckia, astrantia, roses.  Annuals in bloom: borage, sweet peas, snapdragons, lavatera (cosmos succumbed to frost already.)  Irises, grasses and daylilies provide interesting texture.

what's blooming - the Back Shade Garden in late September

Wow!  I went away for the week-end and came back to a glorious show of fall colours in Calgary!  Not to mention great weather!  The cotoneasters (such a common shrub but worth it to have a few just for the blazing reddish-orange fall colours) and mountain ash in my backyard look especially colourful right now.

Above: The shade garden from the central lawn area of the backyard.  Hostas, bergenia, ornamental grasses, mountain ash and cotoneaster are providing colour.

Above: view from the kitchen window.  The grasses will also provide plenty to look at all winter long.  Sigh... I'm already thinking of winter...

fall foliage - rudbeckia 'Golden Glow' and cotoneaster in the Adventure Garden

fall foliage - bergenia and festuca glauca in the back shade garden

what's blooming in the Adventure Garden, Sept 15 2010

Here's the adventure garden in its full frontal view.  It has been a bit of a challenge to design because it is so deep and can be seen from so many directions in the yard.  I still have a few more tweaks to make next year, but I'm pretty happy with it.  Here's another view:

Above: from "England" looking towards the back shade garden beside the garage.

Below: close-ups

 

Here's what this garden looks like at other times of the year:

• August 31 2010
• mid August 2010
• early August 2010
• late July 2010
• mid July 2010 (my favourite time of year for this garden!)
• early July 2010
• late June 2010
• early June 2010
• 2009 overview

what's blooming in the front welcome garden, Sept 15 2010

Sigh.  This may be the last round of garden photos before I start talking about "winter interest"!

Primarily the echinacea, nepeta (catmint), achillea (yarrow) and ornamental grasses are the perennials that are still blooming right now. 

I've planted some purple liatris in the past but it hasn't bloomed yet (last year or this year).  Not sure why as they should get enough sun in this area and they're blooming right now in other parts of my yard.  I'll give them one more year before I pull them out.  

Sedum 'Autumn Joy' is only just now starting to open its flowers, while euphorbia, bergenia and perennial geraniums are providing lots of vivid red fall foliage colours.

Here's this garden at other times of the year:

• August 31 2010
• mid August 2010
• early August 2010
• late July 2010
• mid July 2010
• late June 2010
• mid June 2010
• early June 2010
• winter 2009/10
• south (new) side, all of 2009
• north (older) side, all of 2009
• August 2008

what's blooming in the butterfly potager, mid-September 2010

It's sad to think that the garden is only going to look like this for just a few more days... snow forecast on the week-end!  Ugh!

Perennials blooming right now: monarda (bee balm), eupatorium (Joe Pye weed), hydrangea 'Annabelle', agastache foeniculum (golden hyssop), purple hemerocallis (daylily), purple clematis, rose 'John Cabot', ornamental grasses, and a new goldenrod that I got from the Plant Share last week-end.

Annuals blooming right now: calendula, dill, poppies, zinnias, nasturtiums, allysum.

Other: swiss chard - why have I not grown this vegetable before this year?  I have been harvesting it all summer and it's still looking and tasting great!  I will be freezing the rest for winter cooking soon. 

 

To see this garden at other times of the year, check out:

• August 31 2010
• mid August 2010
• early August 2010
• late July 2010
• early June 2010
• mid-June 2010
• late June 2010
• mid-July 2010
• 2009 overview

rose 'Morden Sunrise' - a great rose for fall

While a lot of other hardy roses in my garden have finished their big flush(es) of blooms already, Morden Sunrise is still blooming like crazy.  I have noticed it blooming long after my other roses for the last few falls actually, so it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the particularly wet, cool September we're having this year. 

So if you have an empty spot in your garden right now that needs a little 'something', I highly recommend adding this hardy rose!  In these photos you will see it paired with perovskia (russian sage), liatris spicata, borage, and a purple sedum which are also blooming right now.

echinacea purpurea 'Magnus' and annual California poppies in the front welcome garden

what's blooming in the front Welcome Garden, August 31 2010

This is year 2 for this garden area and it's filling in nicely.  Remember to click on the photos to get a better view!

The above photos are from the "new side".  In the close-ups (clockwise from top left) you will see shasta daisies which are reblooming after I cut them back in early July; nepeta 'Walker's Low' still blooming with deschampsia despitosa (tufted hair grass) in the background; gaillardia; teasel (a bee magnet!); echinacea purpurea.

And in these photos, above, you can see the more established side a little closer up.  There are orange daylilies, sedum 'Purple Emperor', rose campion, achillea (yarrow) 'Moonshine', veronica spicata 'Sunny Border Blue', and of course, ornamental grasses in bloom right now.

what's blooming in the shade garden, August 31 2010

This garden is extremely dry and shady, so I don't have the moisture-lovers here such as hostas and astilbes that are blooming in the back shade garden right now.  Mostly this spot is about texture and whatever will survive under the spruce tree which is very close to the house - most of the plants here bloom in spring, but for the record this is what it looks like in late August.  I'm happy to report though, that I got the window trim painted since my last post!  :-)

To see what this garden looks like at other times of the year, check out:

• mid August 2010
• mid July 2010
• mid June 2010
• early June 2010
• all of 2009 (wow!  what a difference!  things are bigger now that the tree is gone)

what's blooming in the back Adventure Garden, August 31 2010

This is my favourite garden at my favourite time of year.  Scroll down for plant identifications and close-ups.

Above: the view from the dining patio.  I apologize for the shadows... I'm not on holidays anymore so I don't have the option of waiting around for the best light.  This is how the garden looks first thing in the morning before I leave for work! 

Above: and the view from the sunroom at the back of the house. 

 

In the above photos: borage, asiatic lily 'Landini', elder 'Black Lace', achillea (yarrow) 'Cerise Queen', liatris picata, helictotrichon sempervirens (blue oat grass), sedum 'Purple Emperor', perovskia (russian sage).

In the above photos: perovskia (russian sage), annual cosmos from seed, blue salvia 'May Night', yellow asiatic lily; aconitum (monkshood) and cosmos; rose 'Morden Sunrise', yellow daylily and borage.

In the above photos: snapdragons 'Ribbon Series' and borage from seed; rudbeckia 'Golden Glow' and cosmos; rudbeckia in front of 'Diabolo' ninebark; rudbeckia 'Golden Glow'.

Here's what this garden looks like at other times of the year:

• mid August 2010
• early August 2010
• late July 2010
• mid July 2010 (my favourite time of year for this garden!)
• early July 2010
• late June 2010
• early June 2010
• 2009 overview

what's blooming in the back shade garden, August 31 2010

 

At this time of year I am truly counting on foliage texture to make the shade garden look interesting.  Many shade-loving plants bloom in spring, but right now I still have ligularia 'The Rocket', white and pink astilbes, heuchera and hostas in bloom in this garden.

To see this garden at other times of the year, check out:

• mid August 2010
• early August 2010
• late July 2010
• mid July 2010
• mid June 2010
• 2009 overview

what's blooming in the butterfly potager, August 31 2010

Above: nasturtiums in the window box and purple clematis on the right; that's a new little red lobelia near the bottom of the rain barrel.

Above:  A little closer in and from the bottom up you can see some daylilies, calendula, hyssop, dill and nasturtiums.

Above:  This is inside the gate now looking back towards it: purple clematis with a John Cabot rose still blooming; sedum 'Autumn Joy' getting ready to turn colour (ack!  that means it's fall!) and golden hyssop.

Above: A mishmash of dill, red annual poppies, zinnias, calendula, swiss chard, raspberry beebalm, golden hyssop and purple daylily... oh, and some pink yarrow which I must move out of there - I don't know where it came from and it's clashing with everything!

Above: nasturtiums, orange violas and thyme.

And some close-ups for you as well, clockwise from top left: raspberry monarda (beebalm) with golden agastache foeniculum (hyssop); unknown clematis with calamagrostis (feather reed grass) 'Karl Foerster' and white snapdragon; more hyssop in front of the purple clematis; zinnias; clematis.

To see this garden at other times of the year, check out:

• mid August 2010
• early August 2010
• late July 2010
• early June 2010
• mid-June 2010
• late June 2010
• mid-July 2010
• 2009 overview

rudbeckia 'Golden Glow' and rose 'Morden Centennial' in the Adventure Garden